[quote]I didn't know it was a pilot but I too love this movie. I have no idea what's going on when I watch it though. That's what makes I special though. Would someone like to attempt to explain it?
I can try -- based on the best guesses of critics and what I saw.
But: major, MAJOR spoilers ...
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The "real" part of the movie is the last 30 minutes, and everything that happened previously was a dream of Naomi Watts' character (not the plucky young actress of the first part, but the desperate failed lesbian actress of the end).
(Rather than try to separate Diane/Betty and Rita/Camilla, I'll just refer ot them as Naomi and Laura....)
On a second viewing, the clues are there; after the opening jitterbug sequence, you see someone in a bed tossing and turning (later, it's revealed to be Naomi's bed) before the next shot. It happens so quickly that it fades from memory immediately.
When you see the first part of the movie through the lens of a dream, it makes more sense: Naomi comes to L.A., gets a slightly surreal "classic" Hollywood apartment right off the bat, and is proved a brilliant actress on her first audition. Her relationship with Laura Harring goes from best friend to Nancy Drew girls to tender lesbian lovers.
The Hollywood at the end of the movie is shot flatly and undreamily; it's ugly and unglamorous. When you see Naomi and Laura having sex "for real," it's much less idealized and more like workaday porn. And when Naomi hires the man to kill Laura, you realize that she dreamed this fantasy about her Hollywood career and their relationship because she couldn't handle the truth -- Laura had just had a brief affair with her, but her real love was Justin Theroux, and she had the career Naomi wanted.
Of course, there are still unresolved threads and images... the blue box and the blue key are never explained and the horrible bum/monster behind the dumpster is more of a symbol than a character.
When I watched it again, I was struck by how many times the characters repeated "You don't get to pick the girl" and variations thereof, as well as the phrase "This is the girl."
On first view, it doesn't have much import. On second watching, the repetition becomes the theme of the movie. Naomi DOESN'T get to pick the girl, and "This is the girl" becomes a mantra: You don't ever really see the person right in front of you when you're in love.
At least that's what I got. I'm sure some other DLers have other details and interpretations.